Creamy Baked Cheesecake

My youngest daughter is in her cheesecake era (see this Mini Cheesecakes post, one that we have made many times now!) so she requested a full-size cheesecake for her birthday instead of a more traditional cake. This recipe did not disappoint. She was in heaven!

Creamy Baked Cheesecake
Yield: 9-inch cheesecake

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups gluten free graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk (NOT evaporated milk)
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/4 cup lemon juice concentrate
• 1 (8 oz) container sour cream, room temperature

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300°F.
2. Combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter; press firmly on bottom of 9-inch springform pan.
3. Using stand mixer fitted with beater attachment, beat cream cheese until fluffy.
4. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk until smooth.
5. Add eggs and lemon juice concentrate; mix well.
6. Pour into prepared pan.
7. Bake 50 minutes, or until center is set. Then top with sour cream and bake 5 minutes longer.
8. Place on wire rack to cool completely.
9. Chill overnight before serving.

Recipe adapted from Eagle Brand.

Magic Cookie Bars

This classic dessert is transformed into a gluten free version of the original recipe by replacing the graham cracker crust with an almond flour base.

Magic Cookie Bars
Yield: 9x13 pan

Ingredients
1 stick of butter, melted
1 1/2 cups almond flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup pecan chips
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 9x13 pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Stir together butter, almond flour, and both sugars until thoroughly combined. Press crust mixture into bottom of prepared pan.
3. Sprinkle chocolate chips over crust in pan, followed by butterscotch chips, coconut, and pecans.
4. Drizzle sweetened condensed milk evenly over top.
5. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until lightly browned on top.
6. Cool completely in pan on wire rack before cutting into bars. Enjoy!

Gooey Cookies & Cream Double Chocolate Cake Bars

Here is a family favorite dessert that used to be chock full of gluten. The original recipe called for a boxed chocolate cake mix for the base and then crumbled Oreos on top. Obviously this recipe required some serious tweaking to make these bars gluten free!

Through trial and error, I figured out the perfect combination of made-from-scratch ingredients to replace the cake mix. Luckily, a number of different gluten free "Oreo" cookie options exist in the market. My mom sent me this box from Trader Joe's. (Glutino is another brand I've tried. Head over to this post to see what that package looks like.)

Gooey Cookies & Cream Double Chocolate Cake Bars
Yield: 9x13 pan

Ingredients
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 1/2 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 cup milk (I use almond milk)
15 gluten free "Oreo" cookies
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 9x13 pan with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
2. In stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. (This can be done by hand if you don't have a stand mixer.) Add egg; mix well.
3. Combine flour, cocoa, and baking powder in bowl. Add dry ingredients to creamed sugar in small batches, alternating with milk. Batter will be very stiff.
4. Press dough into prepared baking pan.
5. Crumble cookies on top of dough.
6. Sprinkle white chocolate chips over cookies.
7. Pour sweetened condensed milk over cookies and white chocolate chips.
8. Top with semisweet chocolate chips.
9. Bake 16-20 minutes, until cooked through. (White chocolate chips will start to brown slightly.)
10. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Recipe adapted from Picky Palate.

Fudge Truffle Cheesecake

I don't know about you, but my stand mixer is the most-used appliance in our kitchen! This was the very first birthday present that I ever received from my husband. Boy did he set the bar very high for himself! But here it is, 12 years later and still rocking the recipes right along with me. And of course it's pink, because that's my favorite color. :)

I made this fancy dessert today because our family is having an early Easter gathering this weekend, and a rich decadent cheesecake just begs to be shared with a crowd! The last time I made a new recipe for a get-together, I forgot to take a picture of the final product before it was devoured. (Remember this post? The truffle theme was a total coincidence, I promise!) So here are a few snapshots of the cheesecake as I made it this morning.

Crust pressed into the springform pan:

Filled crust before going in the oven:

Cheesecake immediately after baking:

Cheesecake after cooling for 3 hours at room temperature:

Hopefully there will be a slice leftover so I can add a photo to this post showing you a cross-section of the crust and filling. Otherwise, if I don't update this post, then I suppose the recipe was a rousing success! ;)

Fudge Truffle Cheesecake
Yield: 9” springform pan

Ingredients
Crust:
 1 1/2 cups almond flour
 1/2 cup powdered sugar
 1/3 cup baking cocoa
 1/2 cup butter, melted

Filling:
 3 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened
 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
 2 tsp vanilla
 4 eggs
 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, melted and cooled

Garnish:
 Whipped cream or cool whip
 Mini semisweet chocolate chips

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 300°F.
2. Combine all crust ingredients. Press onto bottom and 2” up sides of 9” springform pan. Chill in refrigerator.
3. For filling, beat cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla in large bowl, at medium speed, until smooth. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Stir in melted chocolate chips until evenly incorporated. Pour into crust.
4. Bake for 65 minutes, until center is almost set (will still jiggle slightly). Cool on wire rack for 3 hours at room temperature. Refrigerate overnight.
5. Just before serving, remove sides of pan. Garnish with whipped cream and chocolate chips, if desired.

Note: This recipe needs to be made one day in advance!

Recipe adapted from Taste of Home.